There is much interest in the medical community in expandable prosthetic valves designed to be implanted using minimally-invasive surgical techniques (e.g., transthoracic microsurgery) or endovascular (i.e., percutaneous) techniques, which are less invasive than the surgical operations required for implanting traditional cardiac-valve prostheses. These expandable prosthetic valves typically include an anchoring structure or armature, which is able to support and fix the valve prosthesis in the implantation position, and prosthetic valve elements (e.g., leaflets or flaps), which are connected to the anchoring structure and are configured to regulate blood flow. One exemplary expandable prosthetic valve is disclosed in U.S. Publication 2006/0178740 A1, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Expandable prosthetic valves enable implantation using various minimally-invasive and/or sutureless techniques. Various techniques are generally known for implanting such an aortic valve prosthesis and include percutaneous implantation (e.g., transvascular delivery through a catheter), dissection of the ascending aorta using minimally-invasive thoracic access (e.g., mini-thoracotomy), and transapical delivery in which the aortic valve annulus is accessed directly through an opening in or near the apex of the left ventricle. There is a need in the art for improved systems for delivering the valve prosthesis to an appropriate location in a patient's cardiovascular system.